How to Say "The rabbit went to the garden yesterday" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The rabbit went to the garden yesterday" in Korean is "토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요." (tokkiga eoje jeongwone gateoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

Want to express "The rabbit went to the garden yesterday" in Korean? Say "토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요.". The grammar point -아/어요 (A1) is essential for everyday Korean conversation. Read on for a full breakdown.

Category: 동물

What does "The rabbit went to the garden yesterday" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요." translates to "The rabbit went to the garden yesterday." in English. "토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요." might look complex at first, but it follows a predictable pattern. It says "the rabbit went to the garden yesterday" by placing the key action at the very end — a hallmark of Korean grammar.

Pronunciation guide: tokkiga eoje jeongwone gateoyo.

Grammar Point: Polite Ending (-아/어요)

The -아/어요 ending is the standard polite speech level in Korean. Use -아요 after bright vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ), -어요 after dark vowels, and 해요 for 하다 verbs.

가다 → 가요, 먹다 → 먹어요, 하다 → 해요. This is the most common speech level in daily Korean.

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 토끼가 (tokkiga) • 어제 (eoje) • 정원에 (jeongwone) • 갔어요 (gateoyo)

Korean has no articles (a, an, the). Instead, context and particles tell you whether something is specific or general.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

Korean speakers would find this sentence instantly comprehensible because it uses high-frequency vocabulary combined with a standard sentence pattern — the bread and butter of Korean communication.

Cultural Insight

한국어에는 비를 표현하는 단어가 다양해요. 보슬비, 가랑비, 소나기, 장대비 등 비의 강도와 느낌에 따라 다른 이름을 사용합니다.

Examples

토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요. — tokkiga eoje jeongwone gateoyo. — The rabbit went to the garden yesterday.

토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요? — tokkiga eoje jeongwone gateoyo? — Does the rabbit went to the garden yesterday?

주말에 토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요. — jumale tokkiga eoje jeongwone gateoyo. — On weekends, the rabbit went to the garden yesterday.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 먹아요 → Correct: 먹어요. The stem 먹- ends in a dark vowel (ㅓ), so it takes -어요 not -아요. Match the vowel harmony.

Incorrect: 갔어요 토끼가 어제 정원에 → Correct: 토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요. Korean uses Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. The verb must come at the end of the sentence, unlike English where it comes after the subject.

Quiz

How do you say "The rabbit went to the garden yesterday" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "토끼가 어제 정원에 갔어요.". tokkiga eoje jeongwone gateoyo.

Fill in the blank: 토끼가 어제 정원에 ___

The correct ending is "갔어요". The polite -요 form is essential for everyday Korean conversation.